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Jun 27, 2019

Pancakes and Paintbrushes

Brushing the experiences of the previous night off their faces, putting on possibly the only set of clothing they own; making their way to a place of love and acceptance for who they are. The Innercity Freedom Group – a recovery group for whatever hurt or habit someone is overcoming in life – meets on Monday mornings. It’s a safe community where everyone is welcome. It’s a group designed to provide support through whatever the struggle is, and since we all have challenges in

Nov 28, 2018

Larissa’s Journey: Early Years in Foster Care

Larissa’s Journey is a blog series that we hope will offer insight and understanding into the lives of one of the young people in the Innercity Arts program. We hope to raise awareness, challenge misconceptions, and honestly reflect the lives of those who call the streets their home. This blog is the more detailed account of Larissa’s on air presentations on Family Radio CHRI, 99.1 fm, each weekday at 8 am and 5 pm. Thanks for listening! Editor: Please stay tuned to Family Ra

Apr 14, 2018

Made of Good Quality by a Caring Craftsman

Yet he was not cared for in the same way as he was made, left with many stains of abandonment and abuse. Over time, alcohol, depression and the lasting hurts of childhood, took their toll, eventually causing him to lose his ability to work, drive, and even eat due to failing health. I first came to know Clarence when he began visiting our OIM drop-in. We developed a good friendship and I have been working with him through some of these challenges. I have also had the privi

Apr 11, 2018

Is there someone out there who cares?

When someone from the street experiences loss, their own isolation and marginalization is often compounded with the question: Does anyone really care? Their pain was very real and tangible. In fact when I made the mistake of saying ‘I’m sorry.’ The response from both was a few expletive words wrapped around, ‘what do you care?’ Their comments really struck a nerve with me. I really did empathize with what they were going through. But how do I share with them that they are not

Mar 18, 2014

Ottawa Home and Garden Show. Why?

OIM has been given a booth at the Ottawa Home and Garden Show, March 20 to 23 at the Ernst and Young Centre. Why? A friend of the ministry donated this 10’ x 20’ exhibitor’s space so that people who are thinking about renovating, redoing and re-fixing their own homes might take a moment and consider people who don’t have any home at all. Our booth will have an area where visitors can see some of the art work that our Passion 4 Youth artists have created; we will be showing t

Feb 3, 2014

The Small Things Guy…

Following from last week, my friend ‘Jesse’, the ‘small things guy’. So last week at the drop in, I had to call the police and ask them to remove Jesse as he would not cooperate and leave when I asked him. The reason? He was drinking (no surprise) openly (not allowed) and blatantly (not allowed) and was not showing respect to the church where we house our drop in (the biggest offense), neither did he respect the staff and volunteers who make things work. I was hurt – OK, so

Nov 21, 2013

A Special heARTfelt Thursday: Sneak Peek!

Texture, colour, pattern, meaning… OIM is excited to extend an invitation to friends and community members for the up-coming Passion 4 Youth art show. The Passion 4 Youth artists have been hard at work this Fall to create pieces that explore the idea of violence and social structures. Each artist has created an art piece that represents a major structure in our city that has had a positive or negative influence on their lives. From the perspective of a street-engaged youth, w

Mar 8, 2013

I lost a piece of my heart…

Today I lost another piece of my heart. That’s what I feel when I meet someone who just makes me want to weep. Today I met Constantine….a proud man with a proud name. He tells me he is seventy years young. He tells me he is a descendant of Constantine the Great. He is Romanian he says and has been here for many years, fleeing persecution in his native land. He says his family left behind is better off without him, he must leave so they can be safe. He tells me he has be

Mar 6, 2013

God’s hands on a cold night…

This past Wednesday, Ottawa experienced what I hope was the last winter storm of the year (fingers crossed!). It was windy, snowy and wet. Buses were cancelled and everyone was warned to stay off the messy roads. But that night, I was scheduled to do outreach from 9-midnight. I would love to tell you that I am a really tough/super-amazing outreach worker who is always motivated to walk the streets to do God’s work.-but that’s just not true. Last Wednesday I was exhausted, and

Feb 25, 2013

OIM goes to the Oscars!

Ok…OIM didn’t actually GO to the Oscars…but the film that won ‘Best Documentary Short’ is the story of Inocente Izucar, a street-artist who was living on the streets of San Deigo at the age of 15. This documentary features a young woman who uses brilliant colours and unique art pieces to rise out of the challenging life on the streets to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional painter. After watching the trailer, I am anxious to watch the full feature….a story of hope

Feb 22, 2013

Feeling Human

I met Ashley last summer. She had just left her parents house and was staying at a downtown shelter. Like many other youth who first come to the streets, she seemed nervous but excited about being out on her own for the first time. She spoke about her life like she was starting a new adventure. But just like other youth, this excitement began to fade as the harsh realities of the street began to set in. Ashley’s hope for the future seemed to fade too….Ashley showed up at the

Feb 20, 2013

You Take Donations Don’t You?

We came in this morning to find a note from one of the outreach teams that was out last night. The team had come across a friend in need and they gave him a bottle of water. He wanted to pay for it, but the team assured him that it wasn’t necessary. He then asked ‘you take donations don’t you?’ He then passed a loonie to our team as a donation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this among our community. So many times, people will come into drop-in and need some i

Feb 11, 2013

Hard to believe, but 2013 marks our 25th Anniversary!

So much has transpired since Susan Brandt and Katrine Coward filled a couple of knapsacks with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinking boxes, and walked the streets seeking to come alongside those who were neglected, abused and in need. Now, after 25 years we affirm the faithfulness of God and His care and concern for people experiencing poverty and homelessness! Here’s what happened last year: 5,000+ visits to our drop in program; 7,600+ connections on the streets

Feb 8, 2013

More beautiful for having been broken…

Recently Moira sent me something that she knew would intrigue me. It is a picture of a piece of pottery that was broken and then repaired with gold or silver laquer. It is an art called Kintsukuroi . When a piece of pottery is broken, what is our first impulse? To throw it out of course! To us it’s a useless piece of hard clay now, no longer good for its intended use. But this art is about taking something broken and making it repairing it ‘understanding that is more be

Feb 6, 2013

Where did He call home?

Have you heard the story about the little boy who shared his lunch with a homeless man? The little boy had found the older man in a park and was so enthralled with this man’s beautiful smile that the boy apparently had no fear of him, sat next to him for an extended period of time and shared his bologna sandwich and cookies. Later, when his mother had asked the little boy what he had done that day, the little boy answered, “Today, I shared my lunch with Jesus!” Now, this is

Feb 4, 2013

“I hope we’re the only ones with cold toes tonight”

Volunteering with OIM has introduced me to many new experiences, some sad, but most of them great! One defies categorization, however. That is, the desire to NOT see a dear friend. I mean, this is something that lots of people experience fairly regularly, if you’re having a fight with a spouse, or feeling guilty about what you said to a friend, you may try to avoid them, or hope not to see them for a few days, or something. But say everything is going really well in a relatio

Jan 30, 2013

The Longest Wait…

…for some of our street friends at least: from December 20 or 23 to the end of January. It’s the longest time of the year to make your BIG $531 welfare cheque last – PLUS whatever you might spend at Christmas. Right at this time of the year and this day of the month it is most difficult. You could almost taste the stress and anxiety at the drop in today. Tempers flared several times, and one of our guests refused to leave when asked. I hate when that happens. There is so m

Jan 25, 2013

Turkey time!

The aroma of turkey and all the traditional trimmings wafted from the kitchen at drop-in this week. Nothing says ‘come, sit and enjoy’ like a great turkey dinner! The temperature outside dipped to the lowest it has in 10 years, but inside the windows were steamed up and hearts were warm as we hosted our annual Christmas Dinner. Close to 200 plates of hot savory goodness were served by 40 volunteers to our guests. Each one served with a bonus smile. Thanks to everyone who p

Jan 23, 2013

Perfect timing…

Molly’s worker called the office late yesterday afternoon. Molly is one of our many individuals living in Ottawa that struggle to survive off a meager disability cheque as she is in no position to work due to her mental health issues. Once her rent and utilities are paid, she makes do with less than $200 for the month….for clothing, food, transportation, entertainment, everything!! Imagine…not even $200 in your pocket to live off of for the next 30 days! Molly has been we

Jan 21, 2013

It’s the kind thing to do…

Often times when people hear that I work with the homeless, they like to engage in a conversation about whether or not our society should be responsible for taking care of the homeless. This conversation is generally very predictable… People talk about the waste of money that goes into social programs. Some complain about supporting people on welfare. Others say that it is up to the individual to pick themselves up by their bootstraps to get off the streets. I try my best to

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